Dresden , Germany -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- To understand the full beauty of the ancient Mediterranean city of Rome you have to come to wintry , cold Germany .

In the east German city of Dresden , artist Yadegar Asisi has designed a panoramic scene of epic proportions , breathing life into a long-forgotten view of the Italian capital .

Using a detailed and much-praised painting by Alexander von Wagner and Josef BÃ 1/4 hlmann from 1886 as his inspiration , Asisi painted a first draft of Rome 's cityscape in 1994 .

Nearly 17 years later , an even more impressive version has gone on display ; it will remain in Dresden only until September -- a deliberate decision by the artist .

`` To me art is a constant process . I always want to improve my panoramic scenes , '' Asisi told CNN .

His 360 degree view of Rome in 312 AD is 27 meters high , 107 meters long and weighs 750 kilograms -- making it one of the world 's largest panoramic scenes .

Visitors overlook the city from a 15 meter high metallic tower located in the center of the perfectly circular museum : Standing on top of the tower , viewers feel they are part of Rome -- though sadly unable to wander down the stairs and walk to the Colosseum .

Asisi chose as his subject a historical moment , the influence of which is still felt in Europe and around the world today : The triumphal procession of the Emperor Constantine the Great on October 29 , 312 .

Constantine 's brutal success over his rivals marked the beginning of the Christian West . At that time Rome was vital to Europe , and the days when many of its magnificent buildings would lie in ruins were a long way off .

`` Moments that have shaped our world have a huge impact on my art '' , said Asisi , sitting in his large Berlin studio , its walls filled with his paintings and photographs of ancient buildings or old reliefs .

`` But this panoramic scene is not really about showing a cityscape , it is more about the stories hidden within the city , '' Asisi said .

The panorama is a museum that needs no words to tell its stories . An art form dating back to 19th century Europe , panoramas fell out of fashion with the coming of the cinema .

But why are people so fascinated ?

`` It seems Asisi 's artistically and archaeologically-underpinned reconstruction of an ancient cityscape fills a large audience with enthusiasm for panoramic scenes and classical antiquity even today , '' said Andreas Scholl , director of Berlin 's antiquities collection .

Asisi has created a second historic panorama showing the ancient Greek city of Pergamon -LRB- today located in Turkey -RRB- , which is currently on show at Scholl 's Pergamonmuseum , on the Museum Island in Berlin .

Asisi has been working on super-sized 360 degree panoramas since 1994 . It takes him at least a year to design a single work , with previous subjects including Mount Everest and rainforests .

`` Over the years the way panoramas were made has changed dramatically . I love to design on the computer as well as painting in the traditional way '' , Asisi said .

Today music samples , lighting and special effects are used to increase the impact of the panoramas , which change throughout the day , allowing visitors to see them by daylight or night .

Asisi has formed a symbiotic relationship between science and art : To him research is as important as artistic know-how .

`` I do n't know whether my work is art or science . Probably it is both : Art starts where science stops , '' he said .

His passion for details has taken him to Rome countless times -- and visitors ' reactions suggest all that study has been worth the effort .

`` This panorama is fascinating , '' said Rene Gust , 32 , from Berlin . `` I have read about the beautiful Roman buildings lots of times before . But only now I understand why . ''

`` It is amazing to see how they go out of the museum , '' Asisi said . `` Lots of them are touched by the painting .

`` I hope that the emotional connection between the panorama and the visitor will change their relationship with their environment . ''

Having grown up in the former German Democratic Republic -LRB- GDR -RRB- some of his art focuses on social issues . He is planning a panorama of the Berlin Wall , but says that rather than examining the cruelties of the GDR regime , it will instead focus on a normal day in the once-split Berlin .

`` To me it is extremely interesting why so many people in the former GDR did accept to live in such a country , '' he said . `` Many people - including me . ''

Meanwhile his panoramas are exciting more and more interest overseas .

In 2003 , Asisi drew a panorama for Daniel Libeskind which showed the architect 's plans for the Ground Zero site in New York . Libeskind won the tendering process , and his design is currently under construction .

It was Asisi 's first panorama to not only fake reality - but create it .

`` And there is much more to come , '' Asisi said .

Yadegar Asisi 's Rome 312 : Experience the Ancient Metropolis is on display in Dresden until September 2 , 2012 . Pergamon : Panorama of the Ancient Metropolis is on view in Berlin until September 30 , 2012 .

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German artist Yadegar Asisi specializes in super-sized panorama paintings

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360 degree views of the ancient cities of Rome and Pergamon on display in Dresden and Berlin

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The Rome panorama is 27 meters high , 107 meters long and weighs 750 kilograms

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Each work takes at least a year to create , and is enhanced with lighting effects and music